Taiwan is again accusing China of trying to buy the talent it cannot build. The island’s Investigation Bureau said it is probing 17 Chinese companies suspected of illegally recruiting local high-tech engineers.
The sweep was substantial. Between mid-July and early August, investigators searched 64 locations and questioned 114 people, in one of the larger actions since the bureau set up a dedicated task force for this work.
The alleged playbook is familiar. According to the bureau, Chinese firms disguise themselves as Taiwanese or foreign-funded businesses, open unauthorised offices, or work through staffing agencies to hide who is really doing the hiring.
The targets are precise. The companies under scrutiny cluster around semiconductor manufacturing and integrated-circuit design, the two fields where Taiwan’s lead is most valuable and hardest for Beijing to replicate on its own.
The named firms span the island. They include Actions Technology in Taipei and chip-tool and materials suppliers across New Taipei, Taoyuan and Tainan, several of which operate in the equipment niches that export controls have made hardest for China to source.
